Knitting machine jack and needle bed



Aug. 24, 1943. c, KOPPEL 2,327,356

KNITTING MACHINE JACK AND NEEDLE BED Filed Feb. 17, 1942 2 SheeG-Sheet 1 'I/IIIIIIIIIJIIIIIII I 7- 2M Z f P f grwe/wfmz Aug. 24, 1943. c. KOPPEL KNITTING MACHINE JACK AND NEEDLE BED 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l7, 1942 /6 0/ H CMW 3 W fw mm 3% a H 0 H. v M S n W VLfiW/li\\ 7 IM 1 I l& w II 7!!!! VII!!! I] i 7 1 I 7 X 7 6 2 3 a 5 Patented Aug. 24, 1943 KNITTING MACHINE JACK AND NEEDLE BED Charles Koppel, Robbinsville, N. J. Application February 17, 1942, Serial No. 431,307

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in knitting machines and pertains particularly to an improved needle and jack bed construction.

The present invention is directed to improvements in the needle and jack beds of knitting machines and particularly to flat knitting machines and pearl machines and has for its object to provide a means for preventing the accumulation or collection of dust and lint in the grooves and channels in which the needles and the jacks move, whereby there is avoided the nesessity for stopping the operation of the machine periodically for the purpose of cleaning the grooves and the sides of the jacks from adhering gummy deposits of lint and dust and also the operation of the machine may be carried on at full efficiency and without unnecessary friction between moving parts.

In the operation of fiat knitting machines there are provided two flat needle and jack beds disposed horizontally and in a common plane provided with narrow grooves or channels in which the jacks and needles slide. These grooves collect dust and lint as well as oil from the yarn and adjacent machine parts, with the result that a gummy deposit collects in the grooves and also collects upon the sides and bottom edges of the jacks and needles so that after a period of time the smooth operation or sliding movements of the jacks and needles is interfered with, slowing u the operation of the machine to an extent which'makes it necessary to discontinue such operation and clean out the grooves and remove the gummy deposits from the sides and bottom edges and needles.

This requirement for the periodic stopping of the machine and cleaning of the needles, jacks and jack and needle grooves is eliminated by the working of the present invention which broadly comprises the formation of openings in the needle beds, leading into the grooves or channels for the jacks and needles, through which dust and lint my be discharged and thus prevented from accumulating in the manner described.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the formation of such discharge openings in such a way that there are provided scraping edges across which the sides and bottom edges of the jacks and needles pass so that ,any lint and oil which may be adhering thereto will be scraped off and dropped below the bed thus keeping the needles and jacks as well as the channels clean at all times so that the smooth movement of these parts can be maintained and the machine can operate with maximum efii ciency.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it being understood, however, that the invention is not to be considered as limited by the specific illustration or description but that such illustration and description constitute a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken transversely of a pair of needle bed plates showing a needle and jacks thereon and showing diagrammatically the associated jack actuating cams and illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a section view similar to Figure 1 with the needle and jacks removed to more clearly illustrate desired arrangements of the clean out apertures or recesses.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan of an end portion of the needle and Jack plate part of the machine.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4--4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a detailed section of a push jack bed and a portion of the adjacent needle bed showing another embodiment oi'the invention.

Figure 8 illustrates the application of the present invention to a cylinder type knitting machine.

Figure 9 is a section on the line 99 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a section on the line lllll] of Figure 8.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings there are shown the two needle bed plates A and B which form a part of a fiat knitting or pearl machine. In Figure 3 only a portion of each bed plate is illustrated as it is not necessary to show the entire length of each plate or bed to illustrate the present invention.

Also there is shown diagrammatically in each of Figures 1 and 2 a portion of cam mechanism such as is used in association with each bed plate, the said mechanism being indicated as a whole by the character C. The construction and operation of the camming mechanism in association with the jacks J which are shown in position in Figure 1 in a bed plate channel In, is well known to those versed in the art and no description of the same is necessary for an understanding of the present invention.

The needle bed plate B also includes as a portion of its structure the push jack bed D which is provided with numerous transverse channels I l which are alined with the channels ill of the adjacent needle bed, as shown in Figure 3, to receive push jacks J As previously stated a difiiculty had with machines of the type set forth is the accumulation of lint and dust in the grooves or channels it] and H which adheres to the sides of the jacks and needles, the needle of Figure 1 being indicated by the numeral l2, with the result that the smooth operation of the jacks and of the machine as a whole is interfered with thus causin a slowing up of the movements of the parts.

The present invention aims to avoid the above described difficulty by providing outlets in the bed plates for the dust and other matter accumulated in the channels so that as the jacks and needles are shifted back and forth the accumulated matter will be worked out of the channel and removed from the jacks and needles through these outlets. Y

The outlets may be formed in several different ways, as illustrated, and while several different forms of outlet apertures have been shown in the several figures of the drawings, in each needle bed, it is to be understood that it is not intended by such illustration to limit the invention to the use of all of these different forms at one time in one bed plate or limit the invention to the use of more than one outlet in a bed plate if it is found that one outlet will accomplish the desired results.

One embodiment of the present invention comprises forming lengthwise of the under side of each needle bed plate a longitudinally extending channel [3 which is of sufficient depth to have the bottom in the plane of the bottoms of the jack and needle channels it], as is illustrated most clearly in Figure 4, so that each jack channel it) has a short longitudinally extending bottom opening I4.

In another embodiment of the invention a channel is formed longitudinally of the under side of each bed plate which, as shown in Figure 5, where the channel is indicated by the numeral I5, is of materially greater depth than the channel l3 so that the bottom of this longitudinally ex tending channel lies in a plane considerably above the bottoms of the needle and jack channels I0.

Thus in additionto each jack channel Ill having a bottom opening i6, recesses are formed in the portions of the plate lying between the channels H], as indicated at I! in Figure 2. The recesses II have a cross-sectional contour such that a straight vertical edge I8 is formed at the back of each recess and a forwardly and downwardly inclining edge [9 is formed at the forward side of the recess.

A third embodiment of the invention consists in the formation of a series of short openings in and extending through each bed plate from the bottom of each jack channel l0, as illustrated in Figure 6, where such openings are indicated by the numeral 20. This arrangement is followed in the thinner portions of the bed plate where the plate structure would be too extensively weakened by the formation of a continuous channel lengthwise of the under side thereof like the channels l3 and I5. Thus it will be seen that each jack and needle channel N has a dust discharge opening but the thickness of the bed plate between the Jack channels it] is maintained unchanged.

In Figure 7 there is shown another embodiment of the invention which is similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 5 in that there is provided a longitudinally extending channel 2 I in the under side of the bed plate in the push jack bed portion and this channel has a depth which extends into the division portions of the plate between the push jack channels ll, thereby providing vertical edges 22 across which the sides of the push jack J slide.

As previously stated although a number of different embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in one bed plate it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the use of all of these different embodiments in the one plate or to the use of more than one of the embodiments in a single plate although obviously more than one may be used if found desirable.

In the operation of the present invention when the jacks and needles are being moved back and forth in their respective channels Ill-l l dust and lint will escape through the bottoms of such channels instead of accumulating therein and it will also be apparent that in those embodiments where the depth of the channel formed longitudinally in the under side of the bed plate is of greater depth than the thickness of the plate below the jack channel, the vertical edges thus formed, such as the edges I8 and 22, and also the inclined edge I9, will function to scrape away any matter adhering to the sides of the jacks.

There has also been shown in Figure '7 a second channel corresponding to the channel 2| and indicated by the numeral 23, which is formed in that portion of the bed plate where the adjacent ends of a needle jack and a push jack come together. By the provision of a slot along this particular line of the bed plate, the slot being extended to a depth to open into the channels and to extend into the portions of the plate between the channels, as shown, the collection of dust and lint between the ends of the jacks is avoided as it will be seen that as the two jacks move back and forth, alternately separating and coming together, accumulated dust will be shoved from the groove in which they operate into the underlying slot instead of collecting between the ends of the jacks and thereby interfering with the proper operation of the same.

The preferred application of the present invention is to a fiat bed machine of the form illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 inclusive, but it, will be readily apparent that the invention may be carried out in those machines in which the bed plates are at an angle as in the Lamb system machine and also in the cylinder or cylinder and dial type of circular knitting machine.

A cylinder and dial type of circular knitting machine has a needle carrying mechanism such as is illustrated in Figure 8 wherein the cylinder for carrying the vertical needles is indicated by the numeral 24 while the dial is more or less conventionally illustrated and indicated generally by the numeral 25. As is well known the cylinder has formed in the outer wall surface a plurality of vertical needle grooves 26 in which are slidably mounted the vertical needles 2! while the dial 25 is provided with a plurality of radial needle grooves 28 in each of which slides a horizontal or radial needle 29. In carrying out the present invention in connection with a cylinder machine of this character the dial has formed 2,327,356 therethrough the vertical slots 30 each of whichopens through the bottom of a radial groove or channel 28. The needles 29 in their back and forth movement run over these slots and any dust or dirt which may collect in the slot will be forced out through the same to drop down through the cylinder.

In the cylinder portion there are provided a series of radial openings or slots 3| each of which opens through the bottom of a channel or groove 2% and the lower wall of each of these slots is arranged at a downward and inward inclination as indicated at 32 so that material such as dust or the like which is removed from the slot by the needle or which is scraped from the needle, will gravitate through the slot to the interior of the cylinder.

Around the interiorof the cylinder there is arranged an annular receptacle 33 which comprises an annular wall portion .34 connecting at its lower edge with an outwardly extending bottom 35 which has a flange 36. This flange is secured by screws 31, or in any other suitable manner, to the wall of the cylinder as shown, so that it may be readily removed when desired. The wall 34 cooperates with the inner wall of the cylinder to form the completed receptacle as shown and into this passes any dust or dirt which escapes through the passages 3|.

In the construction shown in Figure 8 the dust escape openings have been formed by cutting individual slots through the cylinder wall and the dial plate but it will be apparent that these slots may also be formed by cutting channels in the inner walls of these two units to a depth sufficient to open into the grooves 26 and 28 or to a greater depth whereby the portions of metal lying between the grooves will be recessed in the manner similar to that indicated by the reference character it in Figures 1 and 2 or at M and 23 in Figure '7 thereby providing scraping edges at the sides of the needles as well as across the inner or bottom edges thereof.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to apply the same to those cylinder machines in which there are employed two cylinders arranged in end opposed relation but axially spaced to provide an intervening space across,

which the needles extend. In such construction the grooves or channels would be preferably formed, as illustrated in Figure 8, each cylinopenings formed in the bottoms and sides of the grooves in which they reciprocate.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flat bed knitting machine having needle or needle and jack supporting spaced horizontal bed plates provided with channels in which such needles, jacks and the like slide; means for preventing accumulation of foreign matter in said channels comprising openings formed in the body in the bottoms of said channels providing edges across the channel bottoms across and in contact with which said needles and jacks move and through which openings the said foreign matter escapes.

2. A flat bed knitting machine jack and needle supporting bed plate having channels in which said jacks and needles slide and having openings in the bottoms of the channels providing scraping edges across and in contact with which the jacks and needles move.

3. A structure as set forth in claim 2 in which said openings have scraping edges in the sides of the channels each engaging a face of the jack or needle and functioning to remove adhering foreign matter from the vertical side faces of the Jack and needle.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 2 in which the material of the body between the channels and at the sides of said openings, i cut away to form recesses between the channels having vertical edges extending across the adjacent jack or needle and engaging the same for the removal of adhering foreign matter from the side faces thereof.

5. In a fiat bed knitting machine, a pair of horizontally disposed bed plates having spaced opposed edges and having needle and jack channels extending through the adjacent edges for the reception of needles and jacks, the needles being movable from one plate to the other across the spaced edges, said plates having openings formed therethrough in the bottom of each channel and in close proximity to the adjacent edges of the plates, each opening being traversed by a needle in its movement across the space between the plates and having scraping edges across which the needle moves and functioning to remove matter adhering to the needle.

6. A flat bed knitting machine jack and needle supporting bed plate having channels in which the jacks and needles slide, the plate having cut in the bottom or under side thereof a continuous channel extending transversely of the first channels and of a depth to extend a substantial distance above the bottoms of the first channels forming horizontal and vertical scraping edges for engagement by the bottom and vertical side faces of the needles and jacks for the removal of adhering matter from such faces.

CHARLES KOPPEL. 

